I don't want to push my head into a history of the region I don't command any expertise on, but >This isn't anime True, but nor is this industrialized warfare with machine guns that can decimate a full battalion in less than a minute. You would've been considered an extremely capable soldier if you could fire three rounds in a minute with a breech-loading flint lock musket. A lot of times, you could've fed the first rank to the initial volley, charge over the bodies, then force the enemy into prolonged cold steel melee.
Motivation and morale mattered hugely in warfare like that. Even against the enemies who weren't particularly worse trained than themselves, we have example from the 18th century Jacobites and the 19th century Japanese civil wars that the 'warrior spirit' brought out in close-quarters combat often turned the tables around frequently. With the Mughals consciously aware of their own demise, and Marathas suffering from war fatigue, I think the combat willingness from the Sikhs must have played a big part without making things look like an anime.
Caleb Turner
>The main reason for the success of sikhs was that they recognised the superiority of European military tactics and weapon technology and they hired American, Dutch and other European mercenaries to train their troops and included battalions with advance artelaries. Wasn't that the Maratha's?
>They were warriors of Kashmir. They used to provided warriors to mughals. What? I thought the Rajputs were longstanding enemies of the Mughal Empire. So basically, Sikh's>>>le warrior caste?
Colton Martin
>I thought the Rajputs were longstanding enemies of the Mughal Empire
Rajputs, as you denote, are a caste, not some sort of national-ethnic-religious community. After the Mughal conquest and consolidation of the Rajasthan in the 16th century, many of the Rajput clans ended up working with the Mughals if anything. From my scant knowledge of the Indian history, I don't think the Rajputs as a group ever had a clearly defined political allegiances. And there were/are plenty of Muslim Rajputs to be found, too.
And also chronology. The wars between the Rajput states and the Mughals are mostly the affairs of the 16th century. The revolt of the Sikhs against the Mughals broke out at the tail end of the 17th century.
Samuel Bennett
Don't know about Marathas but Sikhs hired western mercenaries to train their troop. The pic related is an American mercenary in Sikh Army. He later wrote a book about Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. But I don't remember that book's name.
Adam Thompson
He looks like a malnourished Scottish grandpa that got into cosplaying
>By his own accounts he was born in Wisconsin to a Scottish father and an Anglo-Spanish mother. According to Baron von Hügel, who met Gardner in 1835, he was Irish, but the evidence for that assertion is obscure. Fucking plastic paddies and fake-ass Scots
Cameron Thomas
>Don't know about Marathas but Sikhs hired western mercenaries to train their troop. Your welcome :)
He looks like a skinnier, whiter version of Ganishka (albeit with a longer nose). Why do most Poo's or poo-ified people (like Gardener) have weird beards like that?
Andrew Howard
>Why do most Poo's or poo-ified people (like Gardener) have weird beards like that?
Sikhs wear turben and keep uncut beard so Gardner also did that when he was in Sikh Army.
Robert Butler
>Sikhs wear turben and keep uncut beard so Gardner also did that when he was in Sikh Army. Not that. I mean it has it's own distinctive look. Muslims let it grow everywhere like crazy.
